The guitar, whether electric or wooden, is one of the most popular of musical instruments. The basic structural parts of the guitar include a head, a neck, and a body with the head being attached to one end of the neck and the lower end of the neck being connected to the body. The neck includes tuner strings and attached to each tuner string is a string that when plucked or strummed represents and produces a sound corresponding to a specific note. On the front surface of the neck is a fret board and extending transverse thereto are 22 spaced-apart frets over which the strings extend for attachment to a bridge that is mounted on the body beside and in line with a sound hole. The strings pass over the sound hole before their connection to the bridge. It should be noted that necks for guitars in current use are either screwed or glued to the body of the guitar. Moreover, the neck includes 22 frets, and a support rod extends through the neck and is commensurate in length with the neck; and the fret board disposed on the upper surface or front of the neck is made of wood.
While the basic shape and structure of the guitar has remained the same for many decades, variations are quite common especially with the shape of the body of electric guitars wherein the bodies can have a v-shape, a box or rectangular shape, or a triangular shape. In addition, it is quite common for guitars, both wooden and electric, to be artistically embellished for enhancing their visual appeal and for providing a unique, personal touch to the instrument. The use of some type of illumination, either embedded within or externally mounted, is not uncommon when designing a guitar that displays and incorporates the personal touches and preferences of the musician. Thus, the prior art discloses a variety of guitars incorporating personal enhancements and embellishments such as illumination means.
For example, the Gilbert patent (U.S. Pat. No. 3,943,815) discloses an illuminated guitar having a fiber optic strand that extends through the neck of the guitar for illuminating fret markers on the playing surface and side surfaces of the neck.
The Kim patent (U.S. Pat. No. 4,563,933) discloses a dynamically illuminated guitar having a plurality of diodes spaced about the body of the guitar and which light up in various patterns dependent upon the actuation of mercury tilt switches that are actuation by orientation of the guitar.
The Rimsa patent (U.S. Pat. No. 4,745,837) discloses an internally illuminated electric guitar wherein the guitar is cast in various molds to produce various types of shapes, and wherein internal illumination sources are embedded within the several layers that compose the guitar.
The Cavaness patent (U.S. Pat. No. 4,815,355) discloses a color changeable guitar body that includes passages in the body through which colored liquid flows and which has the ability to change colors, and wherein the electronic parts of the guitar are waterproof.
The Haake patent (U.S. Pat. No. 5,796,025) discloses a fiberoptically illuminated electrical guitar that includes a light source located in the body and which is connected to a plurality of optical fibers that extend throughout the instrument and in which the illumination of the instrument is regulated by electrical signals generated by the pickup.
Nonetheless, despite the ingenuity of the above devices, there remains a need for a guitar that is lightweight, incorporates a streamlined design, includes a solid neck from the head to the bridge, incorporates luminous lights spaced along the fret board and beneath the fret markers, and includes additional frets at the bottom of the fret board for playing higher notes for leads in poorly lit areas.